Great Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2015 - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 30, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

2015 Induction Ceremony

July 30, 2015

Each year the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame honors the stellar athletes and coaches from the region.  This year, the following individuals and teams have been selected for inclusion in the hall.

Individuals:

Chuck Block, Lansing Community College Cross Country Coach

Jesse Gallegos, a Boxer and Baseball Player from Waverly High School

Fritz Kellerman, a Wrestler from Lansing Sexton High School

Scott Kemp, a Grand Ledge High School Baseball Player

Andy Simmons, Wrestler from Williamston High School

Nick Simmons, Wrestler from Williamston High School

Stephanie Smiley, Basketball Player from Holt High School

Kim Spalsbury, Track and Cross Country Coach from Fowler and Grand Ledge High Schools

Teams:

DeWitt High School Softball Team of 1977

Lansing Eastern High School Golf Team of 1979

Haslett High School Football Team of 1960

Also being honored with the Dick Letts Community Service Award are:

Larry Cockroft

Judge George Economy

This year’s crowd of roughly 600 people was the largest crowd ever for the Annual Induction Ceremony.

Before the event started, there was memorabilia of all the current and previous inductees.  I was so intrigued by the vast store of information, that I ended up looking at pictures and reading plaques during almost the entire time dedicated to mingling.  I took particular interest in the 1980 Lansing Eastern Basketball team, as this was the first year I lived in Lansing and I’ve always been a huge basketball fan.

You can see all the great stories of all the Hall’s inductees on the Hall’s website!

http://www.lansingsportshalloffame.org/

As a nice touch, they had Genadi Zagor, a fine jazz pianist providing background music for the proceedings.

It was time for the main event.  The co-hosts were Bob Every, the Chairman of the Hall of Fame and David DeMarco, who is known as Mad Dog, the host of the popular AM-730 morning sports talk radio show.

They thanked everyone for attending and cited Duane Vernon for his forty years of service to the hall.  As this was the 40^th Induction Ceremony, they invited Dr. Walter B. Lingo, one of the Co-Founders to give the welcome.  Dr. Lingo was gracious and thanked the current Board for all they are doing to keep the Hall alive and relevant in the lives of Greater Lansing Area sports fans!

Kellie Dean, the President and CEO of Dean Transportation, was invited up to the stage to give the invocation.  He spoke to promote the Hope Scholarship Program.  This program has already raised a million dollars to help send underprivileged students from Lansing to community and four year colleges.  They are currently providing funding to help 100 students attend Michigan State University.

After a fine dinner, Bob Every thanked various local individuals and organizations for their help in promoting the Hall.  These included the Lansing State Journal as well Dean Staudt from Channel 10 and Fred Heumann from Channel 6.

He also recognized Mike Price from the Lansing Sports Authority, the Lansing Center and its chef, Jeff Langer, ASAP Printing for donating the professionally done programs and the Hall’s Sponsors.  The Sponsors include Auto Owners Insurance, Dan Henry Distributing, Dean Transportation and Applegate Home Comfort.

Bob Every invited all the previous inductees to the stage.  There was a fine turnout as these people formed a line across the entire front of the banquet hall.  He cited three members who have attended every year since they were inducted in 1976, Jim Sinadinos, Dean Look and Don Johnson.

He finally awarded Duane Vernon a special Americna Eagle award for his 40 years of service to the Hall of Fame.

It was now time to start giving out the Community Service awards and formally inducting the Class of 2015 into the hall!

Please read the following links to learn about the inductees and their acceptance speeches!

Fritz Kellerman

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_52.html

Jamie Wesley Klein

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_10.html

Kim Spalsbury

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_7.html

Jesse Gallegos

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_24.html

Chuck Block

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_58.html

Andy Simmons and Nick Simmons

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_40.html

Stephanie Smiley

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_37.html

Scott Kemp

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_38.html

1960 Haslett Football Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_90.html

1979 Lansing Eastern Golf Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction_5.html

1977 Dewitt Softball Team

http://lansingcivicevents.blogspot.com/2015/08/lansing-sports-hall-of-fame-induction.html

Lansing Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2015 - -Fritz Kellerman - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 30, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

2015 Induction Ceremony

Fritz Kellerman, Lansing Sexton Wrestler

July 30, 2015

Fritz Kellerman won one state wrestling championship when he went undefeated as a high school senior.  He also won three Big Ten wrestling championships and is a member of the Lansing Sexton Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Mr. Kellerman had a broken arm at the ceremony; he joked about arm wrestling with his wife.  He introduced his family and friends and thanked his coaches.  He pointed out that coaches who work with extra-curricular activities - - not only sports, but debate and others as well, help to train people to deal with life.

Lansing Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2015 - - Jamie Wesley Klein - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 30, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

2015 Induction Ceremony

Jamie Wesley Klein, Morrice High School Basketball

July 30, 2015

Jamie Wesley Klein was a two-time all-State Softball Pitcher and was a four time all-State basketball player at Morrice.   She played four years of basketball for Michigan State University.

In one game, she tied the NCAA record for steals in a game.  She is also in the top twenty all-time scorers in Michigan State history.

Ms. Klein thanked her family and others who helped her along the way.  She ended her speech with a spirited “Go Green!” that drew great applause form the audience.

Your blogger confesses that Ms. Klein has a really cute daughter who was really anxious waiting in the wings to join her mother.  As soon as Ms. Klein was done, she hugged her daughter and all was well.  One can see that Ms. Klein is just as successful as a mother as she was as a Hall of Fame Athlete!!

Lansing Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2015 - - Kim Spalsbury - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 30, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

2015 Induction Ceremony

Kim Spalsbury - - Grand Ledge, Fowler and DeWitt Track and Cross Country Coach

July 30, 2015

Kim Spalsbury had a stellar record coaching both boys and girls track at Fowler and Grand Ledge.  He won 19 regional titles, 9 Greater Lansing titles, had 30 top state track meet finishes, 5 state runners ups and 5 state championship teams!

Mr. Spalsbury thanked the committee for selecting him.  He related that he learned to “Treat people with respect and courtesy” all the time from his mother and hard work from his father.

He also discussed the importance of the team concept and also related the importance of loving what you do and having fun with it.

Lansing Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony 2015 - - Jesse Gallegos - - Lansing Civic Events - - July 30, 2015 - - by Chuck Krafft

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

2015 Induction Ceremony

Jesse Gallegos - - Waverly High Baseball Player and Boxer

July 30, 2015

Jesse Gallegos was successful both as a boxer and a baseball player.  He won three National Golden Gloves championships as a middleweight boxer and was invited to try out for the 1976 Olympic Boxing Team.

As a baseball player, he was All-City three years and all state for two years.  As a recreation baseball player, he played in 5 World Series Tournaments and was selected to the Stan Musial World Series All-Tournament Team in 1982.  Bob Every, the Chamber Chairman, actually played baseball with him and was extremely complimentary about his skills.

Mr. Gallegos made the trip all the way from Texas to come to the induction ceremony.  He only spoke briefly, but thanked his family, coaches and teammates for all their support.